I Became the Teacher of the Imperial Family’s Bastard

Chapter 49

049. The Forbidden Prince (2)

Pharos, and the promise.

The combination of these two words was not unfamiliar to me at all.

Rather, it was a phrase that had grown increasingly puzzling as I experienced other events.

And for good reason, considering how much this damn sacred tree had influenced the resolution of matters so far.

I had even heard that its true nature was a branch of the gods, and they said they would reveal related matters after the succession ceremony, so how significant could the words family and promise have been to me?

Nevertheless, I didn’t delve deeply into it immediately because I didn’t think that agonizing over it now would reveal any new facts.

As the Elf Elder said, I thought it was something I would eventually come to know with time.

But now, an opportunity had arisen.

A trap? That possibility certainly existed, but it was extremely low.

The only one who knew about the promise with Pharos so far was the Elf Elder.

Similarly, the Forbidden Library had also existed a thousand years ago, hadn’t it?

There was a common denominator.

There was no need to ponder further.

Even if an unexpected situation unfolded, as long as they knew I had come to meet the Crown Prince, someone would come to rescue me if I could just buy some time.

I stood up and said,

“Let’s go. To the Forbidden Library.”

“Yes. Will you follow me then?”

The Third Prince stood up.

I followed behind him, slowly starting to walk.

* * *

The Forbidden Library was located in an annex to the north of the Imperial Palace.

It was an underground space, and above it was the Old Library, so the location itself was quite familiar.

“This way.”

I followed behind the Third Prince, receiving the librarians’ courtesies.

Thus, somewhere in the Old Library, we opened a locked door and finally arrived in front of the Forbidden Library.

On the massive door, some metaphysical shapes were engraved in relief.

If you look closely, there were figures of angels and demons, and there were figures of humans.

A creepy atmosphere, quite piqued my curiosity.

‘Am I the first?’

No, there must have been the ancestor of the family who made the promise, so I guess I’m not the first.

Anyway, I became a little interested.

Because there were rumors spreading in the world.

The will of the forbidden library is the ghost of a librarian who died long ago.

Or a mad wizard who sealed himself in the forbidden book.

Or, in other words, a cluster of souls of past contractors.

There are all sorts of rumors, but the contractors who could tell the answer were always under the curse of the companion, so the answer was always in the unknown.

The moment you find out.

Rumble!

The door of the forbidden library opened.

I took a long breath and looked ahead.

A library that looks nothing special on the outside.

But the being standing in the middle soon informed me that this was the forbidden library.

“Freed!”

A girl who looked about ten years old ran towards the third prince.

A girl with black hair and red eyes, dressed in a black dress.

The girl had sharp features.

But the moment she blushed at the third prince, she made the expression of a girl in love.

Soon, the girl hugged the third prince tightly.

The third prince smiled and lifted her up.

“Dea, we have a guest.”

“So what. I’ve already waited a day for you!”

The girl buried her head in the third prince’s chest and sniffed.

Then she giggled.

The third prince looked at me as if embarrassed.

“Uh… yes. Sorry. Dea is a bit unruly.”

What should I say?

A rough relationship was drawn.

‘Lovers?’

His gaze turned back to the girl.

Since they called that girl ‘Dea’, that must be the Forbidden Library.

The Forbidden Library was constantly clinging to the Third Prince, rubbing against him.

How should I put it, it was like a cat taking on a human form.

The sense of futility rose at the sight of its unburdened appearance, but that emotion quickly vanished.

It was because of the ‘eyes’ that revealed it.

‘…Spirit.’

It was a spirit.

It was not a specter, a will, or a collective, but a single spiritual entity taking on a form.

It was not a simple spirit.

The girl’s mana was imbued with the weight of countless years.

What was overlaid on top of that was all sorts of metaphysical abilities.

In other words, the entity had reached a level beyond the distinction of attributes or species.

I knew what to call such a thing.

‘…Ancient.’

In other words, an ancient spirit.

An independent existence that lives without any contract, and if it accumulates enough training, it will eventually ascend to the divine realm, a prospective god.

It wasn’t that their power was strong.

It was because the ‘class’ of their existence was high that such a thing was possible.

The fact that such an existence was hiding in the imperial city made me laugh in disbelief.

That emotion soon began to amplify even more.

“Hey, don’t peek.”

I flinched.

I immediately understood what it meant by peeking.

‘The eyes…’

…had seen through.

I stood there, mouth agape.

The Forbidden Library was glaring at me with a sullen expression.

The emptiness that had surged from the previous pathetic state had now vanished without a trace.

The following words, to put it bluntly, were words that gave confidence in the choice to come here.

“I feel bad. Those Pharos people.”

“······.”

“Why do those eyes keep following? They should just disappear.”

It was a story about my eyes.

That made me think deeply.

‘Wasn’t the sacred tree the end?’

I know there are arrangements.

The founder of the family was increasingly revealed to have more cunning aspects than expected.

But, the matter of the eyes was different.

‘Because it was innate···.’

Therefore, I couldn’t think this was some kind of arrangement.

It seems there is a lot of information to be gained.

That evoked quite an encouraging feeling.

I clenched and unclenched my fist, then bowed my head.

“I greet the Forbidden Library.”

“My name is Dea, you idiot.”

“······.”

In that moment, the thought surged up at the attitude that had no trace of manners.

‘Can I hit them?’

Aside from the insight, the texture was still visible.

I knew it was something great, but I didn’t think I would lose.

In the first place, the spirit itself is a supernatural being.

As long as I have eyes, it’s hard for me to lose in terms of compatibility.

I was glaring at the Forbidden Library, examining that texture.

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“What, what! Why are you looking at me like that! Freed! Stop them!”

“Uh, okay?”

“I hate it! That’s why I hate Pharos!”

The Forbidden Library had a fit and hid behind the third prince.

Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.

‘Have you been hit before?’

This is a reaction that can only come from experience.

* * *

The situation was quickly resolved.

The third prince was more mature and composed than I had expected.

A sofa in the middle of the Forbidden Library.

The third prince served tea, and I sat there, staring down the Forbidden Library from the prince’s lap.

An unruly temperament and the status of an ancient spirit.

Despite expecting difficulties in conversation due to the information he held, the Forbidden Library faced me with a surprisingly calm… no, tense demeanor.

It was probably because of the eyes and the sacred tree.

Especially the twisted expression when looking at the sacred tree made me certain, ‘He’s been hit before.’

Even though he was uneasy, his attitude became respectful when his gaze turned that way.

How foul-tempered must the ancestor have been?

How strong must he have been?

Such thoughts briefly crossed my mind, and thinking about it, it was a good thing for me.

“Then, can we hear the story now?”

It didn’t matter to me that the Forbidden Library was an ancient spirit or that those two brats were engaging in affectionate acts.

What mattered to me was what the ancestor wanted to prepare for by doing this.

“I was surprised. Knowing about the family, knowing about the heirloom. More than that, having a connection with the ancestor.”

“It’s not a connection.”

“Then what is it?”

“……”

The Forbidden Library pouted.

Then he spoke.

“…Just a deal.”

“Can’t I know what kind of deal it was?”

“You don’t need to know. It’s not important.”

As I furrowed my brows, the Forbidden Library reacted immediately.

“R-really, the details of the deal have nothing to do with you! You just need to take what you get and disappear!”

“Will you accept it?”

“Honestly… if it weren’t for the promise, I wouldn’t let you in. This is my and Fried’s sanctuary…!”

The Forbidden Library whimpered as it clung to the Third Prince’s arm.

The Third Prince embraced it, and it seemed to find some peace.

I wish they would do that after I leave.

As I thought this, the Forbidden Library pouted and spoke.

It was getting to the point.

“…Anyway, Pharos said it. That someday, someone who holds the Eye of the Abyss and the Sacred Tree will appear.”

“The Eye of the Abyss?”

“Your eye. I don’t really know what it is either. He just said to call it that.”

I heard the name of the eye.

My focus sharpened.

“Do you know what the ancestors were thinking? The reason they prepared for this… and about the Sacred Tree and the eye. I’d like to hear what you know.”

I was getting a bit impatient.

But,

“I don’t know. I haven’t talked to him much. I’ve only met him once.”

The answer was quite deflating.

“I only know one thing. When the person he mentioned appears, I’m supposed to give them a book.”

“…?”

“…That’s really it.”

The Forbidden Library swung its arm, and a book that had been lodged in the shelves flew out.

I narrowed my eyes.

‘A grimoire?’

It was a book inscribed with magic.

The Forbidden Library hugged the grimoire with a nonchalant expression.

It muttered something.

Then the grimoire glowed, and the Forbidden Library spoke.

“Anyway, I kept my promise. No more complaints later.”

Words I couldn’t understand.

I added a word to it.

“Ah, Pharos also told me to deliver this message.”

The Forbidden Library suddenly stood up and crossed its arms.

“Ahem! Ahem!”

After a fake cough, it smiled with a slightly, no, very annoying expression. It was clearly imitating someone.

“A gift that has come this far! You must think carefully and use it well, okay?”

What was that slimy tone?

It was the moment I was thinking that.

Whack!!!

The grimoire flew at a speed that couldn’t be perceived and struck my head.

Sensing something unusual, I reached for my head.

But the grimoire seeped into me faster,

Thud!

“Ugh…!”

My eyes felt like they were burning.

My vision flickered and I lost my cognitive abilities.

My teeth clenched tightly.

In the process, something was forcibly injected into my mind.

It was,

‘…Magic?’

Some kind of magical knowledge.

* * *

The spirit of the Forbidden Library, Friedeadus.

The girl, nicknamed Dea, smirked as she watched Yuren’s face contort in pain.

Then Fried spoke.

“Dea, are you sure it’s okay?”

“Yeah, it’ll be fine. Probably.”

“…Probably?”

“Well, they wouldn’t have given it if it wasn’t okay.”

It might have sounded irresponsible, but it was true.

Dea also didn’t know what role that grimoire played or through what mechanism it manifested.

It was inevitable, as access was impossible.

That dreadful Pharos had placed all sorts of prohibitions on the grimoire, making it inaccessible even to Dea, the master of this place.

The only thing known for certain was that the first Pharos, who had prepared that, had foreseen all these situations.

Additionally, that grimoire was related to something about the Tongkwean.

In fact, whatever it was, it wasn’t important to Dea.

“Hehe…”

Dea was delighted.

Seeing the descendant of Pharos, who had caused nightmares every rising day, suffering, felt like a thorn being removed.

Ah, how long and long were the times of pain and humiliation.

Dea could now laugh and recall the past with utmost satisfaction.

-Don’t you need a place to live? Then I’ll prepare one for you.

-A normal place won’t do! It has to be a space full of taboos…

-Indeed, there is such a place.

I still remember.

The time when Pharos, who was wandering to build his divine name, came to find me.

Introducing the forbidden library and promising a deal.

And then…

-Wahaha! You’re no longer needed, so die!

-Ah, I knew this would happen.

-Huh? Why, why…

-Bad children must be punished, right?

-Wait, just a moment… aaah!!!

…Even from sunrise to sunset, no matter how much I prayed, that dreadful punishment never stopped.

From the head, shoulders, arms, palms, buttocks, thighs, calves, to the soles of the feet.

Dea had never experienced such a painful moment in life.

Everything was vivid and extremely painful.

But now, it could finally be considered a complete past.

Indeed, the promise was kept!

-You just need to hand over this book. Recite the spell in front of that child.

-Then, then…

“You were given the authority of the Forbidden Library. The transfer of ownership will be completed on that day.”

As per the deal, the authority of the Forbidden Library was completely transferred in exchange for the book.

In fact, at this point, Dea could have had other thoughts, but she didn’t feel the need to.

Because she had something more important.

“Fried, so you’ll be with me today, right?”

“Yes, until the Grand Master returns in the evening.”

“Hehe…”

Dea had obtained a treasure.

Fried was more precious than the thousand years Dea had spent in the Imperial City to gain the rank of a god.

On the day the child was born, she realized, the vessel of a great spirit master.

If he had gone outside, he would have had the talent to shake the world, and that was the most necessary condition for Dea to become a god.

For a spirit to become a god, it needs the experience of communing with a great soul.

It seems easy, but it’s difficult. How can a vessel that holds a fragment of a god be easily found?

She thought it would take an eternity to find such a being, even after filling her divine name, but she found it during the process and came to be with him like this.

Every moment was thrilling.

But it wasn’t because it was profitable.

“Hehe, I want to be with you forever.”

“No whining.”

“I don’t want to. I will whine.”

The experience of a warm heart, the feeling of the soul filling up just by touching, was the first for Dea, who had lived for a long time.

If Fried wanted, she felt she could even give up the rank of a god.

She finally realized.

To become a god, one needs something to love and obsess over to the point of throwing oneself away.

That the object of that obsession becomes the name of a god.

Dea buried her head in Fried’s arms.

Fried patted her, looking troubled, and said,